Cheryl Miede opened Meide Law Firm in April. The firm focuses on trademark and technology law.
WHAT IS THE FOCUS
OF HER LEGAL SPECIALTY?
“Technology law is working with software and other technology vendors and users. Most of it involves large scale software licensing work for large companies or customization of software, things like that. In terms of what I do, I draft and negotiate contracts for the acquisition of that software and related aspects of it. Basically, I do what is considered intellectual property, but I’d rather say trademark law. Intellectual property encompasses copyrights, trademarks and patents. I don’t do patent law. That requires a separate license and I have no desire to do it. Primarily, I do trademark law and rarely, copyright law.”
HOW MANY ON STAFF?
Currently, Miede’s mother is offering her time as office help. She hopes to hire a legal secretary soon.
WHERE WAS SHE BEFORE?
Draughon Professional Services, where she learned about intellectual property law, had her on the payroll as an attorney for seven-and-a-half years, although she had been associated with the firm for almost 12 years.
TEACHER’S PET
Florida State University is where Meide earned her law degree. She has a bachelor’s degree with majors in economics, finance, management and business administration from Jacksonville University.
WHY FOUR MAJORS?
“I didn’t know what major to pursue. I talked to my dad and he suggested I choose a business degree. I looked at the majors in the business area and there were so many majors. I asked him what I should do and he said, ‘Just go ahead and choose all of them and decide later.’ I knew I wouldn’t like accounting so I bypassed the A’s and chose the next four.”
HOW DID
SHE FINALLY DECIDE?
“I had an interest in law school coming out of college but I didn’t have enough knowledge about it. I didn’t know if I wanted to go to law school. I thought I did, so I went downtown looking for someone to work with and ended up working with Draughon. I really liked it, went to law school and came back to work with him. Before law school, I was kind of a paralegal [with Draughon]. He [her boss] said, ‘If you go to law school, I’ll give you a job.’
WHY TECHNOLOGY?
“When I first started working there, I did more corporate law because basic corporate law goes hand-in-hand with technology law. I was thrown into the technology work after about a year and really fell in love with it. Trademarks went along with it. It seemed like a good fit for me even though I didn’t seek it out.”
Beauty, too
Meide was crowned Miss JU in 1990.
HOMETOWN
Jacksonville.
WHAT’S MOST REWARDING ABOUT HER WORK?
“I really like when I’m able to close a deal or contract, then the client lives it out and is happy with it. Even more so, if someone feels they are not being treated fairly in the arrangement and we don’t have to utilize the contract in a litigation sense. They’re able to rely on the contract for protection. Yes, I draft contracts and negotiate them, but a large part of what I do is when they come back to me when there’s a problem under the arrangement. The client comes to us and we apply pressure to the other side to comply by the letter of the language I drafted.”
HER CLIENT BASE?
“Of course, technology vendors and users, but also anyone in business using a name as a source of their goods and services. They do tend to revolve around people with services on the web, but my clientele runs the gamut. It can be anyone in business and any size business. I’ve done a lot of government contract work, too, so I’ve dealt with many people in the military.”
WHY OPEN AN OFFICE IN SOUTHPOINT?
“It’s very close to where I live. Plus, it’s an up and coming area. I remember when this used to be cow pastures. This used to be the practice field for the USFL Jacksonville Bulls. I didn’t want to be in downtown, but I wanted to be close to downtown. Clients don’t like dealing with the parking. I’m very accessible to JTB.”
IS COMPETITIon STIFF?
“In Jacksonville, no. I think it’s a growing field. Before, Draughon was known as the only individuals in Jacksonville that did intellectual property and technology law. A lot of the larger firms have other cities that handle their intellectual property. I’ve found it’s very open in Jacksonville but not as much as it was five, six years ago.”
WHAT IMPACTS
YOUR BUSINESS?
“Trademark law is not as affected as technology law. For instance, we did a lot of work on Y2K issues in 1999 and 1998 but very little after. Within the last few years, we did a lot of e-commerce work. With the boom and the bust, there’s not as much out there. Other things pick up where some drop off. Also, there’s a lot more trademark work out there now.”
WHAT CHALLENGES ARE UNIQUE TO THE INDUSTRY?
“It is a field that is not as defined as others so you have to be on top of the new laws or changes. In many instances, they may not have a law to work with. You have to be prepared. In many ways, the courts simply haven’t had to deal with a certain issue before. It hasn’t been tried and tested. The Internet is such a new area so you have to anticipate what the court is going to rely upon to determine judgment.”
WHAT IS HER GOAL FOR THE BUSINESS?
“What I would like is for it to grow, but in a stable environment. I probably wouldn’t want to get up to more than five attorneys. Five is a good number. You can take care of the client without jumping through administrative hoops.”
A LITTLE PERSONAL INFO
Meide resides on the Southside and is a member of the Jacksonville Bar Association and the American Bar Association. She is an avid golfer, swimmer, tennis player and cyclist. To smooth the rough edges, Meide enjoys visiting the Bahamas.
— by Monica Chamness